Solfegio

The main suitability is based on the ability and skills of the player intended, and I would recommend this for students from the age of 7 with some support on navigation, and from age 11 with independent navigation in order to gain the full potential of the software. The App store states it is suitable from 9+, which I would agree with. 

The app is free to download and provides you with some free songs alongside this. However, it then has in-app purchases for the options of a subscription-based service. There are no other adverts on top of this. It develops skills in performance, building repertoire, and allows solo instruments to play alongside an accompaniment that can easily be personalised to their skill set.

What we love about Solfeg.io

What I love about the Solfeg.io App, is the opportunity of building the performer’s repertoire through a very wide array of pieces. With the teacher leading upon these projects, it can easily be shared to Google Classroom, or the link copied, in order to set these as assignments for students. It provides a basic topsheet to explain some key areas of the song such as the difficulty and the chords needed, which helps the teacher to understand which song to choose. Not only this, but it allows freedom and independence to adapt these pieces to suit your needs, by changing the volume, muting or solo-ing certain instruments and providing a metronome to support you with practice, as well as showing a visual demonstration of each instrument so that you can work out the chords and play alongside quickly and effectively. I also really like that you can request your songs in a different key if this would be helpful to you. You can choose songs by reading their descriptions, and filter out by genre or difficulty.

The app has a possibility to record some specific song parts in their mobile app. You can visit the recording challenges under the classes section to use it.

Is Solfeg.io easy to use?

Solfeg.io is easy to use, especially when teachers can direct the students to exactly what they would like them to complete with the connection with Google Classroom. However to work independently, it is fairly easy to work through different songs, and try out a range of quizzes.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers benefit from this greatly, as it offers the support and differentiation required for some students on a more complex level, allowing teachers to be more effective in their delivery without having to create the resources themselves, and students to become more independent. There are also lesson plans and resources provided for music teachers, lesson activities, and ideas, including using Solfeg.io in the classroom. There is also a student dashboard, so you can invite students to get them to access Solfeg.io, and see the student statistics which show their activity on Solfeg.io. There is a quizzes section, which are 10-minute knowledge-checkers that can also be assigned as homework.

How will parents benefit?

As this app is available on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, this also allows students to access their work at home, and communicate easily with the teacher at the next lesson in regards to their progress, which helps the parents to benefit in developing their children's learning at home. You can also use the mobile app to have extra content so that they can learn piano, ukulele, and guitar on their own at home, which is of a huge benefit to parents to encourage their children to practice.

What can Solfeg.io improve on?

Solfeg.io could improve their collaboration opportunities. At the moment, there is a fantastic opportunity to set assignments and quiz practice, which is ideal, and teachers are even able to gain the scores of the quizzes. However, most of the practice and key focus around music is practical work. If this has been set as an assignment, there should be a recording option so that the student can submit a recording as part of their assignment. In the future, there could even be a band-work collaboration where each person can record their own part on their different instruments, and the software could multi-track these remotely.

How much does Solfeg.io cost? What is included with the free version vs. paid?

The app is free and provides a small number of free songs alongside this. Following on from this, there are pricing structures and subscriptions dependent on individual needs or school subscriptions. Schools can either pay zero for a very limited mode, it is $299/year for the Maestro plan, or $899/year for the Virtuoso plan. For individuals, the mobile app is $9.99/month, $44.99/6 months and $79.99/yearly.

Is Solfeg.io safe to use? What is the overall rating?

The app is very safe to use. I would rate the app as 4 stars out of 5, as it does exactly what it states, and has a good design and focus, but it could have a clearer learning journey or better collaborative features.